Sun Devil Igniter Board

Carr Bettis

Dr. Carr Bettis is the founder and chief architect of numerous market-leading financial science and technology innovations, and businesses. Most recently Carr incubated Incentive Lab, a financial data and science firm that provides intricate details on executive compensation, where he serves as chairman and co-chief scientist. Carr jointly owns intellectual property with Thomson Reuters via his IP firm, CB Partners, and is co-founder and chairman of Verus Analytics, a quantitative financial technology company.

He serves on the board of directors of iMemories, AudioEye (AEYE), and Chiral Research. He maintains an affiliation with Arizona State University as research professor of finance and is frequently cited in national and international financial media. His research has been published in prestigious academic and professional journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Financial Analyst Journal. He received his PhD from Indiana University in 1992.

Les Brun

Les Brun is chairman and CEO of Sarr Group, LLC, a diversified holding company for his investments. Previously, he was a managing director and head of investor relations in the New York office of CCMP Capital Advisors. Les founded and was chairman emeritus of Hamilton Lane, the world’s leading private equity advisory and management firm, where he focused on strategic initiatives and direction, as well as the firm’s investment decision-making. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Richcourt Group, a Hamilton Lane company specializing in hedge fund management, and was chairman of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s S.B.I.C. Advisory Council, as well as a member of the Committee for the Reinvention of the S.B.A.

Les is currently chairman of the boards of directors of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. and Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. He also serves on the board of directors of and is the audit committee chair for Merck & Co., Inc., and NXT Capital. Additionally, he is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Les holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has more than 30 years of experience in investment banking, commercial banking, and financial advisory experience. Most recently, Les was inducted to the Hall of Fame for the National Association of Investment Companies and the recipient of the 2012 Visionary Award from the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in Philadelphia.

Thomas Cowan

Over the past fifteen years, Tom Cowan has created and mobilized value in several enterprise software companies. His career also includes two decades at IBM, starting in the finance department and moving to CFO and GM roles.

He has served as a CEO for software companies with revenues of $5 million to $100 million, on the board of directors of private companies with revenues of $5 million to $300 million, and as a board member for public companies with revenues of $300 million to $500 million. He has also served on the boards of PGA.com and NHL.com.

With particular market depth in SaaS, mobile, and big data analytics. Tom is currently CEO of modomodo, a SaaS mobile application development platform company moving to the U.S. market after a successful start in Europe. He also mentors entrepreneurs at Arizona State University and Columbia University.

Tom is the author of From Idea to Business, Business Basics, and Leadership Business. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the University of Carolina.

Allan Kaplan

Allan Kaplan has extensive experience building and investing in companies focused on next-generation data communications, Internet infrastructure, services, and software. As a co-founder of three successful technology companies and as a partner in a private venture fund, he has a proven track record in business development, institutional funding, and mergers and acquisitions.

Allan was a co-founder of Limelight Networks, Inc., an Internet platform and services company. Mr. Kaplan served on its board of directors from June 2001 to December 2007 and as its chairman from June 2001 to November 2006.

Prior to Limelight, Allan was a founder of Entera, Inc., an Internet Infrastructure company where he also served on the board of directors. He also co-founded Primenet Services for the Internet, Inc., which later merged with and changed its name to GlobalCenter, Inc. Allan became executive vice president and sat on the board of directors at GlobalCenter, which grew to become one of the largest Web hosting companies in the world in the 1990s.